Tanah - The bible:

Jerusalem has long been embedded into the religious consciousness of the Jewish people. Jerusalem appears in the Tanakh 669 times and Zion (which usually means Jerusalem, sometimes the Land of Israel) appears 154 times. The word Tanah is derived from the Hebrew letters of its three components: Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim. Torah means "teaching" or "law," it includes the Five Books of Moses. Nevi'im means "Prophets." This division includes the books that cover the chronological era from the entrance of the Israelites into the Land until the Babylonian captivity of Judah (the "period of prophecy"). However, they exclude Chronicles, which covers the same period. The Nevi'im are often divided into the Earlier Prophets, which are generally historical, and the later Prophets, which contain more exhortational prophecies. Ketuvim means "Writings." These encompass all the remaining Kabbalah books, and include the Five Scrolls. They are sometimes also divided into such categories as the "wisdom books" of Job, Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs, the "poetry books" of Psalms, Lamentations and Song of Solomon, and the "historical books" of Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles.

Tanah serves as a reference background for ideas, symbols, rituals in Jewish tradition. Jews have always studied and personalized the struggle by King David to capture Jerusalem and his desire to build the Jewish temple there, as described in the Book of Samuel and the Book of Psalms. Many of King David's yearnings about Jerusalem have been adapted into popular prayers and songs.

The Torah commands that once every seven years, Jews from all over the world, men, women and children, are to be assembled in the Temple courtyard in Jerusalem to hear select portions of the Torah read by the king. Today, with over a quarter million Jews practicing Orthodox Judaism living in Jerusalem, the Jewish festivals come to life in the Old and New Cities. The Western Wall, as well as synagogues throughout the city of Jerusalem, host tens of thousands of fervent worshippers and celebrants. Today, people put notes into the Jerusalem Western Wall every single day. The idea is not that we are praying to the Wall (that would be like talking to a wall!), but rather it is known that the Divine Presence rests on the Western Wall more than other places. (see Midrash Rabba - Exodus 2:2 and Song of Songs 2:4).